A Comparative Analysis of Pain Control Methods after Ankle Fracture Surgery with a Peripheral Nerve Block: A Single-Center Randomized Controlled Prospective Study.

Background and Objectives: Patients experience severe pain after surgical correction of ankle fractures. Although their exact mechanism is unknown, dexamethasone and epinephrine increase the analgesic effect of anesthetics in peripheral nerve blocks. This study aimed to compare the postoperative pain control efficacy of peripheral nerve blocks with ropivacaine combined with dexamethasone/epinephrine and peripheral nerve blocks with only ropivacaine and added patient-controlled analgesia in patients with ankle fractures. Materials and Methods: This randomized, controlled prospective study included patients aged 18-70 years surgically treated for ankle fractures between December 2021 and September 2022. The patients were divided into group A (n = 30), wherein pain was controlled using patient-controlled analgesia after lower extremity peripheral nerve block, and group B (n = 30), wherein dexamethasone/epinephrine was combined with the anesthetic solution during peripheral nerve block. In both groups, ropivacaine was used as the anesthetic solution for peripheral nerve block, and this peripheral nerve block was performed just before ankle surgery for the purpose of anesthesia for surgery. Pain (visual analog scale), patient satisfaction, and side effects were assessed and compared between the two groups. Results: The patients' demographic data were similar between groups. Pain scores were significantly lower in group B than in group A postoperatively. Satisfaction scores were significantly higher in group B (p = 0.003). There were no anesthesia-related complications in either group. Conclusions: Dexamethasone and epinephrine as adjuvant anesthetic solutions can effectively control pain when performing surgery using peripheral nerve blocks for patients with ankle fractures.

The effect of ketamine on tracheal intubating conditions without neuromuscular blockade during sevoflurane induction in children.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ketamine on intubating conditions for tracheal intubation during anesthesia induction with sevoflurane and alfentanil in pediatric patients. METHODS: After obtaining parental consents, 50 children, aged 3-10 years, were randomly allocated into two groups to receive either i.v. ketamine 0.5 mg/kg (ketamine group, n = 25) or i.v. saline 5 ml (control saline group, n = 25). One minute after injection of the study drug (ketamine or saline), anesthesia was induced with 5% sevoflurane, followed by injection of alfentanil 10 µg/kg 1 min later. The trachea was intubated 4 min after inhalational induction of anesthesia. Acceptable intubation was defined as excellent or good intubating conditions. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded during the induction period. RESULTS: The percentage of patients with acceptable intubating conditions was higher in the ketamine group (87%) than in the control group (52%) (P = 0.0129). MAP before intubation was significantly lower in the control group than in the ketamine group (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that administration of ketamine 0.5 mg/kg could improve intubating conditions for tracheal intubation without neuromuscular blockade and preserve hemodynamic stability during sevoflurane inhalation induction with alfentanil in children.